Most smaller galaxies may not have supermassive black holes in their centers, according to a recent  study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. This contrasts with the common idea that nearly every galaxy has one of these giant black holes within their cores, as NASA leads the world in exploring how our universe works.

A team of astronomers used data from over 1,600 galaxies collected in more than two decades of the Chandra mission. The researchers looked at galaxies ranging in heft from over ten times the mass of the Milky Way down to dwarf galaxies, which have stellar masses less than a few percent of that of our home galaxy. A paper describing these results has been published in The Astrophysical Journal and is available here https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.05252. 

The team has reported that only about 30% of dwarf galaxies likely contain supermassive black holes.

“It’s important to get an accurate black hole head count in these smaller galaxies,” said Fan Zou of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who led the study. “It’s more than just bookkeeping. Our study gives clues about how supermassive black holes are born. It also provides crucial hints about how often black hole signatures in dwarf galaxies can be found with new or future telescopes.”

As material falls onto black holes, it is heated by friction and produces X-rays. Many of the massive galaxies in the study contain bright X-ray sources in their centers, a clear signature of supermassive black holes in their centers. The team concluded that more than 90% of massive galaxies – including those with the mass of the Milky Way – contain supermassive black holes.

However, smaller galaxies in the study usually did not have these unambiguous black hole signals. Galaxies with masses less than three billion Suns – about the mass of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a close neighbor to the Milky Way – usually do not contain bright X-ray sources in their centers.

The researchers considered two possible explanations for this lack of X-ray sources. The first is that the fraction of galaxies containing massive black holes is much lower for these less massive galaxies. The second is the amount of X-rays produced by matter falling onto these black holes is so faint that Chandra cannot detect it.

“We think, based on our analysis of the Chandra data, that there really are fewer black holes in these smaller galaxies than in their larger counterparts,” said Elena Gallo, a co-author also from the University of Michigan.

To reach their conclusion, Zou and his colleagues considered both possibilities for the lack of X-ray sources in small galaxies in their large Chandra sample. The amount of gas falling onto a black hole determines how bright or faint they are in X-rays. Because smaller black holes are expected to pull in less gas than larger black holes, they should be fainter in X-rays and often not detectable. The researchers confirmed this expectation. 

However, they found that an additional deficit of X-ray sources is seen in less massive galaxies beyond the expected decline from decreases in the amount of gas falling inwards. This additional deficit can be accounted for if many of the low-mass galaxies simply don’t have any black holes at their centers. The team’s conclusion was that the drop in X-ray detections in lower mass galaxies reflects a true decrease in the number of black holes located in these galaxies.

This result could have important implications for understanding how supermassive black holes form. There are two main ideas: In the first, a giant gas cloud directly collapses into a black hole, which contains thousands of times the Sun’s mass from the start. The other idea is that supermassive black holes instead come from much smaller black holes, created when massive stars collapse.

“The formation of big black holes is expected to be rarer, in the sense that it occurs preferentially in the most massive galaxies being formed, so that would explain why we don’t find black holes in all the smaller galaxies,” said co-author Anil Seth of the University of Utah.

This study supports the theory where giant black holes are born already weighing several thousand times the Sun’s mass. If the other idea were true, the researchers said they would have expected smaller galaxies to likely have the same fraction of black holes as larger ones.

This result also could have important implications for the rates of black hole mergers from the collisions of dwarf galaxies. A much lower number of black holes would result in fewer sources of gravitational waves to be detected in the future by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. The number of black holes tearing stars apart in dwarf galaxies will also be smaller.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.

To learn more about Chandra, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/chandra

Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory

Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:

https://www.nasa.gov/chandra

https://chandra.si.edu

News Media Contact

Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu

Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov

Picture this: You’re just about done with a transoceanic flight, and the tracker in your seat-back screen shows you approaching your destination airport. And then … you notice your plane is moving away. Pretty far away. You approach again and again, only to realize you’re on a long, circling loop that can last an hour or more before you land. 

If this sounds familiar, there’s a good chance the delay was caused by issues with trajectory prediction. Your plane changed its course, perhaps altering its altitude or path to avoid weather or turbulence, and as a result its predicted arrival time was thrown off.  

“Often, if there’s a change in your trajectory – you’re arriving slightly early, you’re arriving slightly late – you can get stuck in this really long, rotational holding pattern,” said Shivanjli Sharma, NASA’s Air Traffic Management–eXploration (ATM-X) project manager and the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. 

This inconvenience to travelers is also an economic and efficiency challenge for the aviation sector, which is why NASA has worked for years to study the issue, and recently teamed with Boeing to conduct real-time tests an advanced system that shares trajectory data between an aircraft and its support systems. 

Boeing began flying a United Airlines 737 for about two weeks in October testing a data communication system designed to improve information flow between the flight deck, air traffic control, and airline operation centers. The work involved several domestic flights based in Houston, as well as flight over the Atlantic to Edinburgh, Scotland. 

The testing was Boeing’s most recent ecoDemonstrator Explorer program, through which the company works with public and private partners to accelerate aviation innovations. This year’s ecoDemonstrator flight partners included NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, United Airlines, and several aerospace companies as well as academic and government researchers. 

NASA’s work in the testing involved the development of an oceanic trajectory prediction service – a system for sharing and updating trajectory information, even over a long, transoceanic flight that involves crossing over from U.S. air traffic systems into those of another country. The collaboration allowed NASA to get a more accurate look at what’s required to reduce gaps in data sharing. 

“At what rate do you need these updates in an oceanic environment?” Sharma said. “What information do you need from the aircraft? Having the most accurate trajectory information will allow aircraft to move more efficiently around the globe.” 

Boeing and the ecoDemonstrator collaborators plan to use the flight data to move the data communication system toward operational service. The work has allowed NASA to continue its work to improve trajectory prediction, and through its connection with partners, put its research into practical use as quickly as possible. 

“This partnership has allowed NASA to further its commitment to transformational aviation research,” Sharma said. “Bringing our expertise in trajectory prediction together with the contributions of so many innovative partners contributes to global aviation efficiency that will yield real benefits for travelers and industry.” 

NASA ATM-X’s part in the collaboration falls under the agency’s Airspace Operations and Safety Program, which works to enable safe, efficient aviation transportation operations that benefit the flying public and industry. The work is supported through NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.  

An atmospheric phenomenon occurring over much of California was unmistakable in satellite imagery in late autumn 2025. Fog stretching some 400 miles (640 kilometers) across the state’s Central Valley appeared day after day for more than two weeks in late November and early December. Known as tule (TOO-lee) fog, named after a sedge that grows in the area’s marshes, these low clouds tend to form in the valley in colder months when winds are light and soils are moist.  

This animation shows a sprawling blanket of white fog filling most or all of the valley from Redding to Bakersfield between November 24 and December 9, 2025. While the fog mostly remained hemmed in by the Coastal Range and the Sierra Nevada, it sometimes spilled through the Carquinez Strait toward San Francisco Bay. These images were acquired with the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite and the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP satellites.

The Central Valley is fertile ground for the formation of tule fog, a persistent radiation fog, in late autumn and winter. It occurs when air near the surface, laden with moisture from evaporation, cools and the water saturates the air. If winds are calm, water droplets accumulate into fog clouds near the ground.

Plenty of water was present in the valley’s soils following a very wet autumn. Across nearly all of central and southern California, precipitation totals from September through November 2025 were among the top 10 percent on record, California Institute for Water Resources climate scientist Daniel Swain noted on his Weather West blog. In late November, a very stable high-pressure system developed over the state, which acted like a lid that trapped moist air and confined the fog layer to the valley. With no major storms moving through to disrupt the stratification, the tule fog endured.

Temperatures have been notably cooler in the valley under the fog layer, in sharp contrast to the rest of the state, which was mostly warmer than normal. Despite the contrast, however, the ambient air mass has been warmer overall, Swain wrote. This may be due in part to warm ocean water offshore and a low Sierra Nevada snowpack sending less cold air downslope, he added.

The warmer overall temperatures could explain why fog has lingered at a slightly higher level—more like stratus clouds—at certain times and locations, said Swain. Colder temperatures would be necessary to produce the densest fog near the surface. The somewhat higher cloud in 2025 has differed from past events, when low visibility at ground level has caused major traffic incidents.

Central California has seen long stretches of cold, socked-in days in the past. In 1985, for example, Fresno experienced 16 consecutive days of dense fog, and Sacramento endured 17, according to news reports. Researchers have found, however, that tule fog has been forming less often in California in recent decades. Foggy days are beneficial for the valley’s fruit and nut trees, which need sufficient rest between growing seasons to be most productive. The fog typically comes with chilly weather that brings on a dormant period; it also shields trees from direct sunlight that would otherwise warm the plant buds.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview, and VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Story by Lindsey Doermann.

References & Resources

• Baldocchi, D., and Waller, E. (2014) Winter fog is decreasing in the fruit growing region of the Central Valley of California. Geophysical Research Letters, 41, 3251–3256.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2020, December 22) Cool Yule Tule. Accessed December 10, 2025.
• National Weather Service Radiation Fog. Accessed December 10, 2025.
• The Washington Post (2025, November 29) Why a 400-mile long fog bank lingered over California for a week. Accessed December 10, 2025.
• Weather West (2025, December 6) Under a resilient ridge, prolonged tule fog episode brings cold and damp weather to the Central Valley but anomalously warm/dry weather elsewhere. Accessed December 10, 2025.
• Weather West, via YouTube (2025, December 2) California weather update: Tule fog, a December dry spell, and an overview of our topsy-turvy autumn. Accessed December 10, 2025.

NASA and its partners have supported humans continuously living and working in space since November 2000. After 25 years of habitation, the International Space Station continues to be a proving ground for technology that powers NASA’s Artemis campaign, future lunar missions, and human exploration of Mars.  

Take a look at key technology advancements made possible by research aboard the orbiting laboratory.  

Robots at work in orbit  

Robots have been critical to the space station’s success. From the Canadian-built Canadarm2, which assembled large portions of the orbiting laboratory and continues to support ongoing operations, especially during spacewalks, robotic technology on station has evolved to include free-flying assistants and humanoid robots that have extended crew capabilities and opened new paths for exploration. 

The station’s first robotic helpers arrived in 2003. The SPHERES robots – short for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite – served on station for over a decade, supporting environmental monitoring, data collection and transfer, and materials testing in microgravity.  

NASA’s subsequent free-flying robotic system, Astrobee, built on the lessons learned from SPHERES. Known affectionately as Honey, Queen, and Bumble, the three Astrobees work autonomously or via remote control by astronauts, flight controllers, or researchers on the ground. They are designed to complete tasks such as inventory, documenting experiments conducted by astronauts, or moving cargo throughout the station, and they can be outfitted and programmed to carry out experiments. 

NASA and partners have also tested dexterous humanoid robots aboard the space station. Robonaut 1 and its more advanced successor, Robonaut 2, were designed to use the same tools as humans, so they could work safely with crew with the potential to take over routine tasks and high-risk activities.  

Advanced robotic technologies will play a significant role in NASA’s mission to return to the Moon and continue on to Mars and beyond. Robots like Astrobee and Robonaut 2 have the capacity to become caretakers for future spacecraft, complete precursor missions to new destinations, and support crew safety by tackling hazardous tasks. 

Closing the loop: recycling air and water in space 

Living and working in space for more than two decades requires technology that makes the most of limited resources. The space station’s life support systems recycle air and water to keep astronauts healthy and reduce the need for resupply from Earth. 

The station’s Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) removes carbon dioxide from the air, supplies oxygen for breathing, and recycles wastewater—turning yesterday’s coffee into tomorrow’s coffee. It is built around three key components: the Water Recovery System, Air Revitalization System, and Oxygen Generation System. The water processor reclaims wastewater from crew members’ urine, cabin humidity, and the hydration systems inside spacesuits for spacewalks, converting it into clean, drinkable water. 

The air revitalization system filters carbon dioxide and trace contaminants from the cabin atmosphere, ensuring the air stays safe to breathe. The oxygen generation system uses electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, providing a steady supply of breathable air. Today, these systems can recover around 98% of the water brought to the station, a vital step toward achieving long-duration missions where resupply will not be possible. 

The lessons learned aboard the space station will help keep Artemis crews healthy on the Moon and shape the closed-loop systems needed for future expeditions to Mars. 

Advancing 3D printing technology for deep space exploration 

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is regularly used on Earth to quickly produce a variety of devices. Adapting this process for space could let crew members create tools and parts for maintenance and repair as needed and save valuable cargo space. 

Research aboard the orbiting laboratory is helping to develop this capability.  

The space station’s first 3D printer was installed in November 2014. That device produced more than a dozen plastic tools and parts, demonstrating that the process could work in low Earth orbit. Subsequent devices tested different printer designs and functionality, including the production of parts from recycled materials and simulated lunar regolith. In August 2024, a device supplied by ESA produced the first metal 3D-printed product.    

The space station also has hosted studies of a form of 3D printing called biological printing or bioprinting. This process uses living cells, proteins, and nutrients as raw materials to potentially produce human tissues for treating injury and disease. So far, a knee meniscus and live human heart tissue have been printed onboard.

The ability to manufacture things in space is especially important in planning for future missions to the Moon and Mars because additional supplies cannot quickly be sent from Earth and cargo capacity is limited. 

We have the solar power 

As the space station orbits Earth, its four pairs of solar arrays soak up the sun’s energy to provide electrical power for the numerous research and science investigations conducted every day, as well as the continued operations of the orbiting laboratory. 

In addition to harnessing the Sun’s energy for its operations, the space station has provided a platform for innovative solar power research. At least two dozen investigations have tested advanced solar cell technology – evaluating the cells’ on-orbit performance and monitoring degradation caused by exposure to the extreme environment of space. These investigations have demonstrated technologies that could enable lighter, less expensive, and more efficient solar power that could improve the design of future spacecraft and support sustainable energy generation on Earth.  

One investigation – the Roll-Out Solar Array – has already led to improvements aboard the space station. The successful test of a new type of solar panel that rolls open like a party favor and is more compact than current rigid panel designs informed development of the ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs). The six iROSAs were installed during a series of spacewalks between 2021 and 2023 and provided a 20% to 30% increase in space station power. 

Connecting students to station science 

For 25 years, the orbital outpost has served as a global learning platform, advancing STEM education and connecting people on Earth to life in space. Every experiment, in-flight downlink, and student-designed payload helps students see science in action and share humanity’s pursuit of discovery. 

The first and longest-running education program on the space station is ISS Ham Radio, known as Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), where students can ask questions directly to crew members aboard the space station. Since 2000, ARISS has connected more than 100 astronauts with over 1 million students across 49 U.S. states, 63 countries, and every continent. 

Through Learn with NASA, students and teachers can explore hands-on activities and astronaut-led experiments that demonstrate how physics, biology, and chemistry unfold in microgravity. 

Students worldwide also take part in research inspired by the space station. Programs like Genes in Space and Cubes in Space let learners design experiments for orbit, while coding and robotics competitions such as the Kibo Robot Programming Challenge allows students to program Astrobee free-flying robots aboard the orbiting laboratory. 

As NASA prepares for Artemis missions to the Moon, the space station continues to spark curiosity and inspire the next generation of explorers. 

The center leverages AI along with JPL’s unique infrastructure, unrivaled tools, and years of operations expertise to support industry partners developing future planetary surface missions.  

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Wednesday inaugurated its Rover Operations Center (ROC), a center of excellence for current and future surface missions to the Moon and Mars. During the launch event, leaders from the commercial space and AI industries toured the facilities, participated in working sessions with JPL mission teams, and learned more about the first-ever use of generative AI by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover team to create future routes for the robotic explorer. 

The center was established to integrate and innovate across JPL’s planetary surface missions while simultaneously forging strategic partnerships with industry and academia to advance U.S. interests in the burgeoning space economy. The center builds on JPL’s 30-plus years of experience developing and operating Mars surface missions, including humanity’s only helicopter to fly at Mars as well as the only two active planetary surface missions. 

“The Rover Operations Center is a force multiplier,” said JPL Director Dave Gallagher. “It integrates decades of specialized knowledge with powerful new tools, and exports that knowledge through partnerships to catalyze the next generation of Moon and Mars surface missions. As NASA’s federally funded research and development center, we are chartered to do exactly this type of work — to increase the cadence, the efficiency, and the impact for our transformative NASA missions and to support the commercial space market as they take their own giant leaps.” 

Genesis of ROC 

Through decades of successful Mars rover missions, JPL has continuously improved the unique autonomy, robotic capabilities, and best practices that have been demanded by increasingly complex robotic explorers. The ROC offers an accessible centralized structure to facilitate future exploration efforts. 

“Our rovers are lasting longer and are more sophisticated than ever before. The scientific stakes are high, as we have just witnessed with the discovery of a potential biosignature in Jezero Crater by the Perseverance mission. We are starting down a decade of unprecedented civil and commercial exploration at the Moon, which will require robotic systems to assist astronauts and support lunar infrastructure,” said Matt Wallace, who heads JPL’s Exploration Systems Office. “Mobile vehicles like rovers, helicopters, and drones are the most dynamic and challenging assets we operate. It’s time to take our game up a notch and bring everybody we can with us.”  

Future forward  

A key focus of the ROC is on the more rapid infusion of higher-level autonomy into surface missions through partnerships with the AI and commercial space industries. The objective is to catalyze change to deliver next-generation science and exploration capabilities for the nation and NASA. 

As NASA’s only federally funded research and development center, JPL has been evolving vehicle autonomy since the 1990s, when JPL began developing Sojourner, the first rover on another planet. Improvements to vehicle independence over the years have included the evolution of autonomy in sampling activities, driving, and science-target selection. Most recently, those improvements have extended to the development of Perseverance’s ability to autonomously schedule and execute many commanded energy-intensive activities, like keeping warm at night, as it sees fit. This capability allows the rover to conserve power, which it can reallocate in real time to perform more science or longer drives. 

With the explosion of AI capabilities, the ROC rover team is leaving no Mars stone unturned in the hunt for future efficiencies.  

“We had a small team complete a ‘three-week challenge,’ applying generative AI to a few of our operational use cases. During this challenge, it became clear there are many opportunities for AI infusion that can supercharge our capabilities,” said Jennifer Trosper, ROC program manager at JPL. “With these new partnerships, together we will infuse AI into operations to path-find the next generation of capabilities for science and exploration.”  

During the ROC’s inauguration, attendees toured JPL operations facilities, including where the rover drivers plan their next routes. They also visited JPL’s historic Mars Yard, which reproduces Martian terrain to test rover capabilities, and the massive 25-Foot Space Simulator that has tested spacecraft from Voyagers 1 and 2 to Perseverance to America’s next generation of lunar landers. A panel discussion explored the historical value of rovers and aerial systems like the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in planetary surface exploration. Also discussed was the promise of a new public-private partnership opportunity across a virtual network of operational missions.  

Attendees were briefed on tiered engagement options for partners, from mission architecture support to autonomy integration, testing, and operations. These opportunities extend to science and human precursor robotic missions, as well as to human-robotic interaction and spacewalks for astronauts on the Moon and Mars. 

A highlight for event participants came when the Perseverance team showcased how the ROC’s generative AI can assist rover planners in creating future routes for the rover. The AI analyzed high-resolution orbital images of Jezero Crater and other relevant data and then generated waypoints that kept Perseverance away from hazardous terrain. 

Managed for NASA by Caltech, JPL is the home of the Rover Operations Center (ROC).  

To learn more about the ROC, visit:

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/roc

News Media Contact

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

2025-137

Retirement Information for NASA Employees

The NSSC provides general administrative, advisory, and transactional support for federal benefits programs to all NASA employees, calculates retirement estimates, and processes retirement packages.

In consideration of retiring employees on administrative leave, resources typically available only to NASA employees behind the NASA firewall are temporarily available below.  Most of your questions can be answered with one of these guides or the information below.

• Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) – What you need to know about retirement
• Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) – What you need to know about retirement

This information may help you resolve questions you would otherwise contact the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) about.

All other NASA employees can visit the NASA employee intranet for additional information.

Inquiry Response Times

NASA is experiencing a significant influx of inquiries due to the high number of upcoming retirements. Response times will be slower than normal. Please do not send repeated follow-ups, as that creates bottlenecks and further delays responses. All inquiries will be answered in the order received. Thank you for your patience.  

Retirement Annuity Start Dates and Processing Timelines 

FERS retirees with a retirement date on or before Dec. 31, 2025: 

• Your annuity begins accruing Jan. 1, 2026. 

• Your first payment is expected mid-February 2026. 

• Because payments begin in February, your application is still considered timely even if it remains with the NSSC through late January. 

• As long as your case reaches Payroll Review by February, there will be no delay in your annuity. 

CSRS retirees with a retirement date on or before Jan. 3, 2026: 

• Your annuity will accrue starting in January 2026, with the first payment mid-February 2026. 

• Processing is still considered on time if NSSC completes its portion by late January, and your case reaches Payroll Review by February. 

FERS employees retiring Jan. 1, 2026 or later and CSRS employees retiring Jan. 4, 2026, or later: 

• Your annuity begins accruing Feb. 1, 2026. 

• Your first payment is expected mid-March 2026. 

• Applications can typically remain in HR review through February. 

• As long as your package reaches Payroll Review by the end of February, your retirement payment will not be delayed.

VSIP Payments and Lump Sum Leave Payments 

VSIP payments will be issued with your final NASA paycheck. We do not expect any delays to VSIP payments. Even if your retirement application is not finalized by your retirement date it will not delay your VSIP. 

Lump sum annual leave payments for employees retiring Dec. 28, 2025, through Jan. 10, 2026, are expected to be paid around Feb. 13, 2026. Even if your retirement application is not finalized by your retirement date it will not delay your lump sum leave payment. 

All NASA issued payments, to include your last paycheck, VSIP, and lump sum leave, will be deposited into the same bank account used for your NASA payroll. Updates made in the Online Retirement Application (ORA) do not affect NASA payroll. ORA updates only apply to your future retirement annuity. 

Understanding Online Retirement Application Statuses

In Process/Not Started:

• The application is with the employee for action. The NSSC cannot move it forward until the employee completes required steps. This is the only stage at which an employee can adjust or make changes to their application in ORA.

In HR Review:

• Your application is actively being worked by the NSSC Retirement Services team. Thousands of retirements are in the queue, so please be patient. Once your application is in HR Review (or beyond) you cannot make any changes. If you have a change that needs to be made, submit a Web Inquiry to the NSSC.

In Applicant Review:

• The application is back with the employee for final certification. Once completed, the status will update to In HR Finalized.

In HR Finalized:

• The NSSC has completed its portion and will release the package to payroll.

In Payroll Review:

• Your application is no longer with NASA. It is with the Department of the Interior, Interior Business Center (IBC), NASA’s payroll provider.
• Applications typically remain in Payroll Review for about 30 days after your retirement date while payroll records close. IBC will then certify the package and submit it to OPM.

Email Address Changes in ORA

• Do not change your email address once you begin your retirement application. ORA does not allow email updates mid-process. 

• Changing your email requires deleting your application and starting over, which can significantly delay your place in the queue. 

• You may update your preferred email later in OPM Services Online once your case transfers to OPM. 

Retirement Counseling and Training

• The FERS group retirement counseling sessions have been extended to accommodate additional participants and are full. If you are not able to attend one of these sessions or may otherwise find the information helpful, you can watch a previously recorded session. To jump to a specific topic, see the recording time stamps.  
• A final CSRS counseling session will be held Dec. 23. Eligible employees have already received a Teams meeting invitation via their personal email address. If you missed this invitation, you may submit a Web Inquiry to the NSSC to have it resent.

Resources

• A Retiree’s Guide for Preparing to Retire 
• Benefits and Retirement Information 
• Retirement Quick Guide 
• OPM Retirement & Insurance Publications
• OPM Retirement FAQs

Forms

• Continuation of Life Insurance Election, SF 2818
• CSRS Spousal Consent to Survivor Election
• FERS Spousal Consent to Survivor Election
• Withholding Certificate for Periodic Pension or Annuity Payments, W-4P
• Medicare Request for Employment Information (only applicable for employees who are over age 65 and enrolling in Medicare during a Special Enrollment Period)
• Guidance on Reviewing and Updating Beneficiary Forms
• Voluntary Contribution Election (only for CSRS employees who have participated in the Voluntary Contribution Program)

Retirement – Court Orders

Courts can issue orders that award benefits to legally separated spouses, former spouses, and children of current employees, former employees, and retirees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). NASA cannot advise an employee, an employee’s spouse, or an attorney on how to draft a court order to award CSRS or FERS benefits. This is the task of the attorneys involved.  

The NSSC cannot provide estimates that would require speculation about future promotions, program changes, or any other non-factual information and does not prepare estimates for employees who are not close to retirement. Official computations are made by OPM only at the time benefits become payable. 

If you are involved in a divorce, legal separation, or annulment, you should provide the NSSC with a copy of your court order to expedite the processing of your retirement in the future.

Action required: Mail a court-certified copy of the court order to the address below and upload a copy in your ORA account: 

• Attention:  Retirement Services
  NSSC
  Bldg 1111, Jerry Hlass Rd
  Stennis Space Center, MS 35929 

Court Ordered Benefits Information

• Court Ordered Benefits for Former Spouses Pamphlet
• Handbook for Attorneys

The Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Dec. 9, 2025, with Expedition 73 NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky aboard.

The trio returned to Earth after logging 245 days in space as members of Expeditions 72 and 73 aboard the International Space Station. While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Kim contributed to a wide range of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations.

For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit.

See more photos from the landing.

Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

A flash of lightning, and then—something else. High above a storm, a crimson figure blinks in and out of existence. If you see it, you are a lucky witness of a sprite, one of the least-understood electrical phenomena in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Sprites occur at some 50 miles (80 kilometers) altitude, high above thunderstorms. They appear moments after a lightning strike – a sudden reddish flash that can take a range of shapes, often combining diffuse plumes and bright, spiny tendrils. Some sprites tend to dance over the storms, turning on and off one after another. Many questions about how and why they form remain unanswered. Sprites are the most frequently observed type of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs); TLEs can take a variety of fanciful shapes with equally fanciful names.

This image is the NASA Science Calendar Image of the Month for December 2025. Learn more about sprites and download this photo to use as a wallpaper on your phone or computer.

Text credit: Miles Hatfield

Image credit: Nicolas Escurat

Galaxy clusters are the most massive objects in the universe held together by gravity, containing up to several thousand individual galaxies and huge reservoirs of superheated, X-ray-emitting gas. The mass of this hot gas is typically about five times higher than the total mass of all the galaxies in galaxy clusters. In addition to these visible components, 80% of the mass of galaxy clusters is supplied by dark matter. These cosmic giants are bellwethers not only for the galaxies, stars and black holes within them, but also for the evolution and growth of the universe itself.

It is no surprise then that NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has observed many galaxy clusters over the lifetime of the mission. Chandra’s X-ray vision allows it to see the enormous stockpiles of hot cluster gas, with temperatures as high as 100 million degrees, with exquisite clarity. This blazing gas tells stories about past and present activity within galaxy clusters.

Many of these galaxy clusters host supermassive black holes at their centers, which periodically erupt in powerful outbursts. These explosions generate jets that are visible in radio wavelengths, which inflate bubbles full of energetic particles; these bubbles carry energy out into the surrounding gas. Chandra’s images have revealed a wealth of other structures formed during these black hole outbursts, including hooks, rings, arcs, and wings. However, appearances alone don’t tell us what these structures are or how they formed.

To tackle this problem, a team of astronomers developed a novel image-processing technique to analyze X-ray data, allowing them to identify features in the gas of galaxy clusters like never before, classifying them by their nature rather than just their appearance. Prior to this technique, which they call “X-arithmetic,” scientists could only identify the nature of some of the features and in a much less efficient way, via studies of the amounts of X-ray energy dispersed at different wavelengths. The authors applied X-arithmetic to 15 galaxy clusters and galaxy groups (these are similar to galaxy clusters but with fewer member galaxies). By comparing the outcome from the X-arithmetic technique to computer simulations, researchers now have a new tool that will help in understanding the physical processes inside these important titans of the universe.

A new paper looks at how these structures appear in different parts of the X-ray spectrum. By splitting Chandra data into lower-energy and higher-energy X-rays and comparing the strengths of each structure in both, researchers can classify them into three distinct types, which they have colored differently. A pink color is given to sound waves and weak shock fronts, which arise from pressure disturbances traveling at close to the speed of sound, compressing the hot gas into thin layers. The bubbles inflated by jets are colored yellow, and cooling or slower-moving gas is blue. The resulting images, “painted” to reflect the nature of each structure, offer a new way to interpret the complex aftermath of black hole activity using only X-ray imaging data. This method works not only on Chandra (and other X-ray) observations, but also on simulations of galaxy clusters, providing a tool to bridge data and theory.

The images in this new collection show the central regions of five galaxy clusters in the sample: MS 0735+7421, the Perseus Cluster, and M87 in the Virgo Cluster in the top row and Abell 2052 and Cygnus A on the bottom row. All of these objects have been released to the public before by the Chandra X-ray Center, but this is the first time this special technique has been applied. The new treatment highlights important differences between the galaxy clusters and galaxy groups in the study.

The galaxy clusters in the study often have large regions of cooling or slow-moving gas near their centers, and only some show evidence for shock fronts. The galaxy groups, on the other hand, are different. They show multiple shock fronts in their central regions and smaller amounts of cooling and slow-moving gas compared to the sample of galaxy clusters.

This contrast between galaxy clusters and galaxy groups suggests that black hole feedback — that is, the interdependent relationship between outbursts from a black hole and its environment — appears stronger in galaxy groups. This may be because feedback is more violent in the groups than in the clusters, or because a galaxy group has weaker gravity holding the structure together than a galaxy cluster. The same outburst from a black hole, with the same power level, can therefore more easily affect a galaxy group than a galaxy cluster.

There are still many open questions about these black hole outbursts. For example, scientists would like to know how much energy they put into the gas around them and how often they occur. These violent events play a key role in regulating the cooling of the hot gas and controlling the formation of stars in clusters. By revealing the physics underlying the structures they leave behind, the X-arithmetic technique brings us closer to understanding the influence of black holes on the largest scales.

A paper describing this new technique and its results has been published in The Astrophysical Journal and is led by Hannah McCall from the University of Chicago. The other authors are Irina Zhuravleva (University of Chicago), Eugene Churazov (Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Germany), Congyao Zhang (University of Chicago), Bill Forman and Christine Jones (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian), and Yuan Li (University of Massachusetts at Amherst).

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.

To learn more about Chandra, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/chandra

Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory

Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:

https://www.nasa.gov/chandra

https://chandra.si.edu

News Media Contact

Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu

Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov

In March, NASA researchers employed a new camera system to capture data imagery of the interaction between Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission-1 lander’s engine plumes and the lunar surface.

Through NASA’s Artemis campaign, this data will help researchers understand the hazards that may occur when a lander’s engine plumes blast away at the lunar dust, soil, and rocks.

The data also will be used by NASA’s commercial partners as they develop their human landing systems to safely transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface and back, beginning with Artemis III.

To better understand the science of lunar landings, a team at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, has initiated a series of plume-surface interaction tests inside a massive 60-foot spherical vacuum chamber.

“This plume-surface interaction ground test is the most complex test of its kind to be undertaken in a vacuum chamber,” said Ashley Korzun, testing lead at NASA Langley. “If I’m in a spacecraft and I’m going to move all that regolith while landing, some of that’s going to hit my lander. Some of it’s going to go out toward other things — payloads, science experiments, eventually rovers and other assets. Understanding those physics is pivotal to ensuring crew safety and mission success.”

The campaign, which will run through spring of 2026, should provide an absolute treasure trove of data that researchers will be able to use to improve predictive models and influence the design of space hardware. As Korzun mentioned, it’s a big undertaking, and it involves multiple NASA centers, academic institutions, and commercial entities both small and large.

Korzun’ s team will test two types of propulsion systems in the vacuum sphere. For the first round of tests this fall, they are using an ethane plume simulation system designed by NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and built and operated by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The ethane system generates a maximum of about 100 pounds of thrust — imagine the force necessary to lift or support a 100-pound person. It heats up but doesn’t burn.

After completing the ethane tests, the second round of tests will involve a 14-inch, 3D-printed hybrid rocket motor developed at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, and recently tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It produces around 35 pounds of thrust, igniting both solid propellant and a stream of gaseous oxygen to create a hot, powerful stream of rocket exhaust, simulating a real rocket engine but at smaller scale for this test series.

Researchers will test both propulsion systems at various heights, firing them into a roughly six-and-a-half-foot diameter, one-foot-deep bin of simulated lunar regolith, called Black Point-1 that has jagged, cohesive properties similar to lunar regolith.

“It gives us a huge range of test conditions,” Korzun said, “to be able to talk about spacecraft of all different kinds going to the Moon, and for us to understand what they’re going to do as they land or try to take back off from the surface.”

A number of different instruments, including a version of the specialized camera system that imaged the plume-surface interaction during the Blue Ghost landing, will capture data and imagery from the tests, which will only last about six seconds each. The instruments will measure crater formation, the speed and angle of ejecta particles, and the shapes of the engine plumes.

Korzun sees this test campaign as more than a one-shot, Moon-specific thing. The entire operation is modular by design and can also prepare NASA for missions to Mars. The lunar regolith simulant can be replaced with a Mars simulant that’s more like sand. Pieces of hardware and instrumentation can be unbolted and replaced to represent future Mars landers. Rather than take the vacuum sphere down to really low pressure like on the Moon, it can be adjusted to a pressure that simulates the atmosphere on the Red Planet. “Mars has always been in our road maps,” Korzun said.

But for now, the Moon looms large.

“This test campaign is one of the most flight-relevant and highly instrumented plume-surface interaction test series NASA has ever conducted,” said Daniel Stubbs, an engineer with the human landing systems plume and aero environments team at NASA Marshall. “The data from these tests at NASA Langley will be critical in developing and validating models to predict the effects of plume-surface interaction for landing on the Moon and even Mars, ensuring mission success for the human landing systems and the safety of our astronauts.”

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build upon our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.

For more information about Artemis, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

Joe Atkinson
NASA Langley Research Center